


5 Times Tony Built An Armour +1 Time Someone Made It For Him

by anonymousstoryperson



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, New Avengers, Still salty about CACW, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark gets a new team, Tony Stark-centric, Very Team Iron Man Friendly, i know CACW happened three years ago let me live, if tony antis can read then this is not for them, ill add tags when i can think of them, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 14:43:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21056120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymousstoryperson/pseuds/anonymousstoryperson
Summary: Set after the events of Captain America: Civil WarThe title speaks for itself





	5 Times Tony Built An Armour +1 Time Someone Made It For Him

1.

Ever since he had gotten his first pair of shades, they had become almost like his very first piece of armour. They had become a staple of his during his school years at MIT, a barrier between him and the students and teachers who felt a kid had no place in their school, no matter how much of a genius said kid may be. It put distance between him and the snide comments, the constant expectation of both excellence and failure at the same time, to the point that only Rhodey ever saw him without them, back in the relative safety of their dorm.

Years later, it was no different, with only a few exceptions. Rhodey wasn’t the only person to see his face anymore, but the list was decidedly exclusive- Pepper and Happy were the only others he could state for certain alongside his best friend. It was his defence against the crowds asking the questions he couldn’t answer- where are the Rogues? Why aren’t you doing more? Why did my loved ones die under the watch of the Avengers that are no more?  
It was his only defence, these days. 

As he pushed on past the flashes and yells and accusations, he’d never been more grateful for a pair of shades in his life. They were a paper-thin defence and he clung to it with everything he had until he reached the car that Happy had pulled up, collapsing into his seat when the car door finally shut out the world. Here, as the car moved away from the crowds and onto the roads, Tony could pull them off with shaking fingers that narrowly missed the ugly bruise under his eye, mingling nicely with the shadows under both.

Movement at the front of the car pulled at his attention just in time to see Happy’s arm throw a small package at him, which he dropped the shades to catch. He could smell the burger even before it reached him.

“Don’t expect one every time I pick you up,” Happy warned, without heat, “I’m security, not your delivery boy.”

And despite the exhaustion that was clinging to every muscle he had, he managed a smile. “Thanks, Hap. Appreciate it.”

He dug in, the first chance he’d had to eat since yesterday, his shades lying forgotten, for the moment, between his feet.

2.

The Iron Man armour wasn’t his only suit of armour. He had many.

Armani, Tom Ford, you name it he probably had it somewhere. The Accords council barely took him seriously anyway, they wouldn’t give him the time of day if he showed up like the mess he’d been an hour ago- eyes burning, hair a mess, covered in oil and sweat and guilt and whatever he had slept in. If he had had the choice, he would have stayed like that, locked himself out of the world and tried to keep the voices drowned out. 

But he couldn’t. The Accords still needed work, and he’d never forgive himself if he allowed another Ross to twist them for their own benefit. These Accords needed to work for everyone, and there were very few Avengers left to step up to the plate.

Not that they had when they had been there with the chance to do so.

So he showered and changed, focusing his vortex of thoughts onto the shirt, the trousers, the blazer, the tie. It calmed him, in a way, this methodical process of fixing the cuffs and straightening the tie, smoothing out the tailored jacket that perfectly hid the bandages he had to wear for the next week. It was mindful, almost, gave him a focus rather than letting his thoughts spiral somewhere cold.

The tank top and jeans may have been more comfortable, but here for some reason he felt better. Maybe it was getting out of his funk. Small victories, maybe. He hadn’t yet drowned in his self-pity. 

“Tony?”

Pepper was there, probably surprised he looked anything better than death warmed over. She herself was immaculate and beautiful as always, from not a single hair out of place to not a scuff to be seen on her heels, she had been the rock keeping him above water all these years. 

“I’ve looked over your newest proposal for the Accords committee.” She told him.

“Pep, you don’t need to play assistant anymore. You’ve already got all of SI to deal with, I’ve got-“

“I think you’ll get some pushback from the Committee, but if you manage to get it through, I think it’s going to help a lot of people.” She continued as if uninterrupted, “If it’s public backing you need, just know you have more of it than you think. Trust me.”

Though he found that hard to believe, he wasn’t going to push. He was too tired. “I know better than to doubt your wisdom, Pep.”

She smiled at him, a warm gesture of eternal reassurance and support, before turning to leave. “I’ll be off. As you said, I do have all of Stark Industries to deal with today.”

She turned back to him as she stepped into the elevator, the smile fixed in place. “That includes PR statements about our company’s unending support in you, in case you didn’t pick up on that.”

Tony watched the doors close between them, and once again thanked every power that could be listening that Pepper had been brought into his life. He pulled the suit jacket closer around himself, her words ringing clear in his mind.

The armour he had donned since he inherited Stark Industries was back on, and he felt ready to try and face one more day.

3.

When it came back to the actual Iron Man armour, that took a bit more time. 

Though he had been working on padding out the suddenly very thin ranks of the Avengers, he still had that responsibility to juggle as well. Iron Man still had to protect the people, after all. Hope had joined, and Vision was still with him, but Spider-Man was still way too young to get caught up in all this, Rhodey was a way off being able to fly again, so that was still only two.

Fixing the armour brought more problems. He could barely stand to look at the thing, let alone repair it. Catching sight of that arcing scar in the chest plate, directly over the dead arc reactor sent him straight back to that fucking bunker, and the fight, and that video…

So yeah, fixing it was an obstacle.

In the end, Harley brought about a solution. Tony barely remembered how or why he had ended up with him. He had grown up a lot since their little tag-team victory in Tennessee. They both had.

When he finally managed to force out what was wrong, Harley was as considerate as he had been the last time, the cheeky bastard.

“I thought I wouldn’t have to give you the same advice twice, old man,” he joked, using Tony’s welding torch like he owned the damn thing, “Just build something. But if you ever want someone else to take a crack at a better armour-” 

The call inexplicably ended just then, but Harley did have a point. If Tony couldn’t fix, he could always build. So he did. He couldn’t look at the old armour, so he avoided it by starting from scratch. There were clearly improvements he could make, if two old grandpas could take him out.

He started by throwing around ideas for better armouring the arc reactor. If a damn frisbee could break it, he could clearly do better. And despite what Harley said, the brat would not make a better armour than him. Not yet, anyway.

4.

The next armour, he didn’t actually build. Instead, he went to someone else to build it for him.

Stephen Strange had very clearly rejected joining the Avengers, stating some crap about dealing with metaphysical threats, leaving the physical ones for his little team. That didn’t stop him from showing up to help the Avengers whenever he felt like, or consulting with them almost regularly, but then he had no-one to blame but himself when the media lumped him in with the rest of them.

They’d formed- not quite a friendship, but more of a grudging respect veiled in gripes and back-and-forths Tony couldn’t help but enjoy. They were far too alike not to see the fun side of it. Which was why Stephen knew something was up when Tony came to him with this request.

“You want me to put mental shields around your mind.” He had restated after Tony had finished rambling.

“Yes.” Tony took a breath and made himself continue, “I know that there’s probably rules against it or you think I don’t realise how serious the request is but-“

Stephen cut him off. “I don’t need you to bear your soul in what is clearly an uncomfortable situation, Tony. I have no problem at all with putting shields around your mind. It’s a simple spell and not as invasive as you’d think. I’ll do it.”

Tony let out a breath of relief and almost crumpled with it but saved himself at the last minute. “Uh, yeah. Thanks, doc. I owe you one.”

Strange looked unconvinced. “Sure, Tony. Just… whatever happened, you know you can talk about this stuff with me, or with the other Avengers if you need to. I know from experience that it can help somewhat.”

Tony almost laughed, thinking back to that moment when he had bared his soul to Bruce all those years ago, only to realise he had slept through the memories of trauma and terror as if it had been a particularly dull TV drama. “Yeah, no, I’m not gonna bore you with all that. So when are we doing this brain wall thing?”

Strange’s eyes bore into him, concern clear even as Tony tried to avoid it. “Tony, whatever happened to you clearly affected you, and as shocking as it may seem to you, I do actually give a shit. If you need me, I will listen. If I didn’t want to listen you know I’d tell you. I would hope you’d realise that.”

Tony smiled again, but thankfully it seemed a bit more genuine. “I might be starting to.”

5.

“So there’s thicker plating and wiring around the main generator, a back-up generator over here, a very compact but sturdy parachute behind the neck if I do say so myself,” Tony explained, his mouth moving faster than his brain as he rushed to cover every new improvement, “uh, the manual releases are easier to use but only work when reached for at an angle that is impossible to manage unless you’re in the armour-“

“-And if I had to guess, it’s resistant to extreme heat, extreme cold, electricity surges, and every other attack you’ve encountered this far?” Rhodey cut him off, the humour failing to hide his concern completely. 

“Hey, don’t feel special, every Avenger is going to get this sort of treatment. The kid got the parachute and heater first.”

“You know damn well this isn’t what I’m concerned about.” Rhodey’s arms were crossed, but they dropped when he saw Tony’s face. “Tones, I get why you’re worried, I do, but-“

“I can’t let them hurt you again.” He blurted, “Any of you. If they come back and decide to pull the same shit again, and they go at you, or the kid-“ he struggled to overcome the thought of Peter going anywhere near the Rogues, and Rhodey could see the scrawny kid from MIT again, wide-eyed and terrified under the bluffs and shades. “I have to do enough this time. I need to do more.”

“Tones,” Rhodey breathed, taking his brother in all but blood by the shoulders, “what did I tell you when you were pulling this lone gun-slinger act last time? You don’t have to do this alone. You think I trust those guys any more than you do? You think the kid does, or Vision? ‘Cause we don’t. We’re not letting them near you, and we’re definitely not letting them back with cake and streamers. A real team looks out for each other, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Tony couldn’t maintain eye contact through such genuine care- emotions were still way trickier than hard science- but he managed to send his brother a quick grin. “So you don’t want the upgrades?”

“Oh no, I’m taking the upgrades,” Rhodey confirmed quickly, smiling in response, “I want to make sure I’m prepared to show the Rogues a fast exit when they stick as much as a toenail out of line.”

+1

Tony was dreading seeing the Rogues again. He wasn’t fooling anybody. He was a bit of a wreck even after all these months.

The dreaded meeting had actually been delayed a full day- not because of Avengers business or any logistics, but because his actual team had spent the whole day distracting him from remembering the date and hiding him around the Compound without him even noticing. FRIDAY eventually confessed to him the full plan that evening. 

Pepper had drowned him in SI contracts to sign in his office that morning while Rhodey dealt with the initial welcome. 

Then Harley and Peter had lured him into the lab before Hope tagged in to cover the renovation tour, giving Rhodey the opportunity to slip away and bang his head against the wall at their stupidity before joining Tony and the kids in the workshop under the guise of bringing a rocket scientist’s perspective to things. 

From there he was able to watch Tony for signs of distraction or realisation, to which he would shoot off a message to Strange, who would alert the lab and portal in with a bullshit excuse of “Tony, you said you wanted to work out how this particular relic worked and this is your only chance for the next few months, so if you want to take a shot it better be now.”

And of course Tony would never miss an opportunity to learn how stuff worked, so that got him out of the Compound completely. Strange would then work with him until he either figured out how magic worked or he figured out the date. 

Luckily for the universe and Tony, neither happened. The Asgardian refugees contacted Tony about five hours later to discuss moving to Norway and compensating him for housing them in an extension of the Compound while they dealt with Midgardian legalities. So Strange portalled Tony back to the Compound before portalling himself to Pepper’s office to let her know so she could make sure the Rogues were nowhere near. Luckily, their tour was over and they were currently in one of the office rooms arguing over the legalities of their pardons, which they read as thoroughly as they had read the original Accords. 

Hence the arguing.

Tony had felt a rush of affection for his family once FRIDAY had confessed, but the day he faced them could not be delayed forever. So he faced them the next day.

But it wasn’t too bad. Not with Pepper at his side, her hand a firm anchor in his, Rhodey at his other side, the three of them flanked by Spider-Man, Harley, Hope and Stephen. Even facing people who still haunted him from time to time he’d never felt safer.


End file.
